Cooper Flagg says maiden double-double ‘not great’ as Wimpanyama dominates Mavs| NBA
Victor Wimbanyama made a dunk in Cooper Flag’s debut. And they shot him. And it flew around him. He reminded everyone of what he missed during the last two months of the French star’s second season.
Wembanyama dazzled the Dallas crowd, and a raucous San Antonio team chanted “MVP! MVP!” In the season opener, he scored 40 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 125-92 on Wednesday night.
Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, was the talk of Dallas’ opener in the game. Next, it was talk of Wimbanyama, who provided a reminder of why he was the overall top pick just two years ago.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman was playing in the regular season for the first time since suffering from deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot condition in his shoulder, which required surgery and was limited to 46 games last season.
“I think we all knew he was going to be tough,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s been out for eight months. He’s been waiting for this probably longer and more meticulously than anyone else. I saw him seize the moment and play amazingly well.”
Flagg scored for the Spurs before scoring for himself, as he was called up for goalkeeping in the second quarter. His first bucket finally came on the first possession of the second half, as the 18-year-old finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Flagg is the second-youngest player to make his debut, being two days older than LeBron James 22 years ago.
“He’s still a rookie,” said Anthony Davis, the 13-year veteran who opened his first full season with the Mavericks after being traded from the Lakers last February. “I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy or not. But the whole thing was the first choice between Copper Flag and Wimpy. So you hear that. I’m not sure if it got to him, but it’s the tension of the first game when it’s time for the real thing.”
Flagg didn’t even attempt a shot in the final 22 minutes of the first half after putting up a pair in the first two, including a close-range fast-break alley-oop shot from Davis. The ball started going down but came back out. He hit a jumper from the free-throw line for his first points, and hit a slam dunk for his second bucket. Flagg was 4 of 13 from the field and had three turnovers.
“I was excited, but I’m excited to keep going,” Flagg said. “Obviously it hurts, because the first loss is that way. Try to look forward to the next loss, turn the page and get ready. We know we have a lot better than that. Stay positive and be prepared.”
When asked about his performance, Flagg was frank. “Not great,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t play very well, but we have to get past that and shift our focus and start looking forward to Friday. [against the Washington Wizards]”.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama was dominant. The 21-year-old scored seven of San Antonio’s 12 goals, as the Spurs outscored the Mavericks 68-26 in the paint and outscored Dallas 58%-37%. Wembanyama was 15 of 21 from the field and had three blocks.
“We needed to make a statement in the locker room. I feel like I need to make a statement to my teammates,” Wembaanyama said. “It’s also just the beginning because there’s a lot I want to add to my game. Some things take time and maturity.”
Wimbanyama went over and over again for Davis, a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. After a dunk late in the second quarter, he hit a jumper while drawing Davis’ fourth foul. In the second half, he dribbled at him and turned him around to hit hard with his left hand. Davis was brought to Dallas for defense in a deal that cost the Mavericks a generational offensive star in his prime in Luka Doncic.
Wimbanyama’s performance came as a surprise to Flagg, but it was something he had expected.
“It’s unbelievable,” Flagg said. “He’s a different player. You can’t know what it’s like until you’re on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we’ve got to do a better job of trying to take some of his looks off. You can’t abuse him as much as we did.”
The 6-foot-9 Flagg was technically the starting point guard while the Mavericks await the return of Kyrie Irving, who is likely months away as he recovers from a torn ACL.